Cigagette case



Oct- 8, 1935- w. v. BLAcKwl-:LL Er AL 2,016,534

CIGARETTE CASE Filed July 25, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. s, 1935.

w. v, BLAcKwz-:LL Er AL 2,016,534

CIGARETTE CASE `3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 25, 1954 WILLI/am E. KEETEPI /N VENTO/e5 l, @Mm

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Oct 8, 1935- w` v. BLAcKwELL ET AL 2,016,534

CIGARETTE CASE Filed July 25, 193A' 'Sheefcs-Sheet 3 ll, @Q95 ,/20 k \I\\l\ k X556 I m @No W/LUHM E. Keen-:

Patented oct. s, 1935 UNITED STATES CIGARETTE CASE William V.

Charlotte, Blackwell Application July 25,

'i Claims.

This invention relates to a cigarette Icase and more especially to a cigarette case with a watch built therein with means operated by the watch for unlocking the case at specied intervals. The invention consists of a cigarette case with a compartment for holding the cigarettes and a compartment for mounting the watch and its associated parts. The case has a lid hingedly secured thereto which 4covers both compartments and is normally latched, but is operated every twenty-four hours by the watch, in the present case, to make it possible to be opened by pressing on a suitable projection on top of the lid. Another lid is hingedly mounted in the lid just described which leads to the cigarette compartment and this lid is operated by the watch so that it may be opened by pressing another projection on top of the first lid at specied intervals. 1n either case when the mechanism which controls the lids has been unlatched, the parts remain in this position until the particular lid has been opened and again closed.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a timed cigarette case with a watch mounted therein and a lid hingedly secured thereto with means operable by the watch for making it possible to open the lid at specified intervals, said means remaining in unlatched position until the lid has been opened and closed.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a cigarette case having a lid hingedly secured thereto covering a cigarette compartment and a mechanism compartment, with a second lid mounted in the rst lid and leading to the cigarette compartment, said second lid beingy operable by the watch to make it possible for it to be opened at speciiied intervals, said means also remaining in unlatched position until the second lid has been opened and closed.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a front elevation of our invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an elevation looking at the righthand side of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged top plan view similar to Figure 2 but showing the details disposed below the cover;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a sectional view through the upper portion of the apparatus and taken along the line 6--6 in Figure 4;

Blackwell and William E. Keeter, N. C., assignors to said William V.

1934, Serial No. '736,912

(Cl. 'l0-26) Figure 7 is a sectional view similar to the lefthand portion of Figure 6 but showing the lid to the cigarette compartment in open position;

Figure S is a sectional view taken through the upper portion of the apparatus along the line 5 8-8 in Figure 4;

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken through the upper portion of the apparatus along the line 9-9 in Figure 4;

Figure 10 is avertical sectional view taken along l0 the line lil- I0 in Figure 4;

Figure 11 is an isometric view of the lever which operates the latch for opening the lid to the apparatus;

Figure 12 is an isometric View of the lever 15 which operates the small lid leading to the cigarette compartment;

Figure 13 is an isometric view of the bracket which fits into one side oi the container to Aholcl the clock mechanism in position and to Iorm a. cigarette compartment;

Figure 14 is an isometric view of the key to unlock our apparatus in case of an emergency;

Figure 15 is a sectional view taken along the line I-l in Figure 5;

Figure 16 is a sectional plan View taken along the line iii-i6 in Figure 5 but showing the parts in a diiierent position;

Figure 17 is a view looking at the iront side ot Figure 16;

Figure 18 is a View similar to Figure 16 but showing the parts in a different position.

Referring more speciically to the drawings, the numeral i@ indicates the outer casing ior our cigarette container to which is hingedly secured cover il by any suitable means such as hinges l2 and I3. A suitable hole is disposed in the face of the casing l@ as shown in Figure l through which the face of a conventional watch Ii projects, said watch iii being secured to a plate I5 disposed within the casing.

Not only is the watch ld secured to plate I5 but other parts are also secured thereto which will be later described and which operate with our invention. The plate I5 with the watch and its associated parts secured thereto is inserted on the inside o casing lil. When the watch I4 is disposed opposite the hole in the front side oi casing l@ it is pushed forwardly to enter the hole and a suitable U-shaped bracket I6 as shown in Figure 13, is inserted on the inside of casing I6 to hold the plate I5 and the watch in lixed position inside the casing- Y It is seen by referring to Figures 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 the upper edge of U-shaped member 16 proportions of the casing l5 where -pins 4e and also jects slightly above the upper edge of casing lil. This is done in order to provide a ledge over which the cover is adapted to t. Since this U-shaped bracket does not extend completely around the inside of the casing, a suitable ledge I'l is provided on the upper edge of the other the upper edge of bracket I6 is not present to make the ledge continuous around the top of casing i5, thereby preventing the cover ll from having lateral play when it is in closed position.

It is seen that the space which exists between the sidewall |5a of bracket |6 and the plate l5, provides a cigarette compartment which is adapted to contain cigarettes i8. The other portion of the container, not occupied by the cigarettes, is occupied by the watch and the mechanism which controls the opening apparatus, and may be much thinner than shown.

By referring to Figure l5 it is seen that the watch i4 is provided with a main drive shaft 25 which drives the minute hand 26 of the watch. Drive shaft 25 is driven from the main spring of the watch which is not shown because it is conventional, and has ixedly secured thereon a pinion 27 which is adapted to mesh with a larger pinion 23 xedly secured on shaft 29. Shaft 29 also has Xedly mounted thereon a smaller pinion 3@ which meshes with a larger pinion 3| said pinion 3| being Xedly secured to sleeve 32 which sleeve is rotatably mounted around shaft 25. The shaft 25 is rotatably mounted in watch I4 and projects through dial plate 33. Fixedly secured to sleeve 32 is an hour hand 34 which makes a complete revolution every twelve hours whereas the minute hand 26 makes a complete revolution every hour. The watch is also provided with a conventional crystal 35 which is secured to the face of the watch to prevent damage to the hands.

It is seen by referring to Figure 5 that the pinion 2'! has eight teeth therein which meshes with pinion 28 having twenty-four teeth therein, this amounts to a gear reduction of three to one, It is further seen that the pinion 3!! on shaft 29 has seven teeth in it whereas the larger pinion 3| mounted on sleeveSZ has twenty-eight teeth therein which amount to a gear reduction of four to one. In other words, each time the shaft 25 makes twelve revolutions, the sleeve 32 and pinion 3l will make one complete revolution; consequently, the relation of twelve to one is obtained between the hour hand 34 and the minute hand 26.

A pinion 31 is xedly secured upon shaft 38 of the watch i4 and is adapted to mesh with pinion 28 and also pinion 39 which is fixedly secured upon shaft 4Q, said shaft 46 having one end rotatably mounted in the front wall of the casing lil and having the other end rotatably mounted in plate l5.

The pinion 39 also meshes with a pinion M which is xedly secured upon shaft 42 and this shaft l2 is rotatably mounted in the front wall of casing ||l and in the plate I5. By referring to Figure 5 it is seen that pinions 37, 39 and 4! are the same size as pinion 28; consequently each time the pinion 28 makes a complete revolution, the pinion @l will make one revolution.

In other words, the pinion 4| will make one revolution every three hours since the gear reduction between pinions 27 and 26 is three to one. Pinion 4| has integral therewith a circular plate 43 in which are mounted a plurality of long a plurality of short pins 45,

The long pins 4e as shown in Figures 4, 5 and 8 are located so as to contact the bevel surface 46 of lever 4l', said lever el being pivotally secured on shaft 48. The shafty 48 has one end flxedly secured in plate l5 and the other end xedly secured in the front wall of the casing iii.

By referring to Figure 9 it is seen that the left-hand end of the lever 4'! as shown in Figure 5 is adapted to fit in suitable notches 4S in a comb 50 which comb is fixedly secured to the plate l5 and l5. The left-hand end of lever fi'lhas a hook 0n the end thereof which normally engages projection 55 and a dog 5| which is pivotally mounted on projection 55 of lever 52 as at 56.

A spring 5l has one end secured to lever 52 and the other end secured to projection 5|a of dog 5|. This spring rotates dog 5| in a counterclockwise manner (Figure 16) when the end of lever il has been lowered by the rotation of pins 134 or 45. The lowering of the left-hand portion of lever 4'1 will cause the parts to assume the position shown in Figures 16 and 1'? and since the end of dog 5|A nearest the observer in Figure 16 has rotated enough to ride on top oi lever lll instead of engaging the notch in the end thereof, it is evident that the lever 52 may be moved to the right if desired. In the position shown in Figure 5 this movement to the right is not possible since the hook in the end o1' lever engages projection 55 as well as dog 5|.

Lever 52 is adapted to operate the cover to the cigarette compartment.

It is seen that a tension spring 53 has one end secured to the right-hand end of lever 41 whereas the other end is secured as at 54, which causes the beveled surface i6 to normally be pulled downwardly so that the pins 44 will Contact this surface and push it upwardly as the disk 43 revolves. Since there are three pins 44 disposed in the plate 43, it is evident that each revolution of the disk 43 will cause the end of lever 4l to be pushed upwardly three times. In other words, since disk 43 makes one complete revolution every three hours, with three pins disposed therein, the right-hand end of lever 47 will be pushed upwardly once every hour.

If it is desired that the lever be pushed upwardly every half-hour, the left-hand end of lever 4'1 as shown in Figure 5, is pulled downwardly manually, and pulled toward the observer in Figure 5 or caused to slide on rod 48 so that it will be disposed opposite the left-hand notch 49 in Figure 8. It is seen, in this position that the beveled surface 46 will be contacted six times for each revolution of the disk 43 because pins 44 and 45 will contact surface 46 in this position; consequently, the lever will be pushed upwardly every half hour.

Lever 52 is slidably secured to the upper portion of cover by any suitable means such as shoulder screws 60, 6| and 52 which penetrate slots |53, 64 and 65 respectively. Secured to the right-hand portion of lever 52 is a tension spring 66 which has the other end secured as at 61 to the lower portion of lid This spring 66 normally pulls the lever 52 to the left in Figures 4 and 6 and causes the projection 52o to rest beneath projection 16a of plate 16. It is seen that when the right-hand portion of lever 4'! is moved upwardly the dog 5| is `allowed to escape from the notch in the left-hand portion of lever 41 and the spring 5l will pull the dog to the position shown in Figure 16. When the dog 5| is allowed to escape from the notch in lever 41 the lever 52 may be pulled to the right at any desired time to cause the front wall of the member the portion 52h to move from beneath projection 16a so that the lid to the cigarette compartment may be opened.

Lid has hingedly secured to the upper side thereof a smaller lid 12, said lid 12 being secured to the top of lid by any suitable means such as hinges 13 and 14. A suitable button 12a is secured on top of lid 12 so that it may be' engaged and opened at the desired time. It is further seen that by referring to Figures 6, 7 and 10 that lid 12 has disposed on the lower side thereof a plate 16, said plate 16 having a projection 16a which is adapted to fit directly above the projection 52h of lever 52. The projection 52h confines the projection 16a between the lower portion of lid II and the upper portion of the projection 52h to prevent the lid 12 from being opened unless the lever 52 has been pushed to the right in Figure 4. The lever 52 also has an upturned portion 52e which has a roughened surface on the upper end thereof. This projects through a suitable slot 18 in the upper portion of lid land is engaged by ones thumb when it is desired to open the cigarette compartment.

It is seen that by constructing the apparatus in this manner that when lever 41 is operated to allow dog 5| to ride on top of lever 41 that the lever 52 may be operated at .any tirne and one may open lid 52 by placing the thumbi upon projection 52o and moving the lever to the right until projection 52h moves from beneath projection 15a. In this position of dog 5| the rotation of pins 41| and 45 will have no effect upon lever 52 since this lever is already in unlatched position.

A suitable cavity 59 is disposed in plate I5 in which is mounted a leaf spring 99. When the lever 52 has been operated and the lid 12 opened the projection 52h will assume the position shown in Figure 'I whereas, the point 5|c of dog 5| will engage the end of leaf spring 69 (Figure 18) but the position of the dog relative to projection 55 will not be changed. In the position of lid 12 in Figure 1, both of the members 5| and 55 are riding on top of lever 41 but when the lid 12 is closed the projection 16 engages downwardly extending projection 52d and pushes it to the right in Figure 7. When the projection 15a has moved to a horizontal position the end of lever 52 is allowed to move to the position shown in Figure 6 under the tension of spring 56. As lever 52 travels to the left when the lid 12 has been lowered, the point 5| engages the end of spring 99 and rotates dog 5| slightly in a clockwise manner (Figure 18) to allow the hook in the end of lever 41 to engage dog 5| and projection 55. Dog 5| has a projection 5 I b integral therewith which limits the counter-clockwise movement of the dog about point 56.

Pinion 3i meshes with a similar pinion 89 which is flxedly secured on shaft 8| and pinion 89 also meshes with a pinion 82 which is in like manner fixedly secured on shaft 83 of the watch, shafts 8i and 83 being rotatably mounted in watch I9. The pinion 82 meshes with a larger pinion 84 which is xedly secured on shaft 85 which shaft has one end rotatably mounted in they front por- `tion of container I9 and the other end rotatably mounted in plate I5. This pinion 84 has a pro.- jection 86 which is adapted to contact the lower side of lever 81, said lever 81 being mounted for oscillation on shaft 98. Shaft 88 is also flxedly secured in plate i5 and in the front walls of the casing I9. The right-hand portion of lever 81 has a suitable hook 89 on the end thereof which normally engages projection 99 of lever 9 I. The lefthand portion of lever 81 has secured to the end thereof one end of a spring 92 and the other end of this spring is secured to bracket 93, said bracket 93 being mounted on plate I5.

Another bracket 94 which is similar to bracket 93 is also xedly secured to plate I5 and in the 5 end of brackets 93 and 94 is slidably mounted a member 95. This member 95 has secured to the lower end thereof a tension spring 96, said tension spring having its lower end secured as at 91 to plate I5. The upper end of member 95 nor- 10 mally contacts the lower side of lever 81 at all times and it is seen that this member 91 has lugs 95o disposed directly above the bracket 93 which prevents the spring 96 from pulling the lever 95 too far downwardly. Disposed directly below the bracket 93 is projection 95h which is integral with the member 95 which also limits the upward movement of the member 95. This member 95 has a cavity 95a cut therein which is adaptedto be contacted by the end of a suitable key |99 which has a hole I9| thereon. This hole |9I is adapted to fit over a pin |92 said pin |92 having an enlarged portion |93 which is secured to the plate I5. When the key |99 has been inserted through a suitable hole |94 in the front of casing I9, the projection |95 on the key will contact the upper portion of cavity 95a and move the bar 95 upwardly to cause the right-hand end of the lever 81 to move downwardly and allow the portion 99 to be released from engagement from the hook 89 on 30 lever 81.

This makes it possible to release this lever 9| and allow the lid to be opened in case the watch is run down or something should happen to make it very essential to get inside the container when 35 the latch cannot be operated by the watch. Since the pinion 3| makes a revolution in twelve hours the pinions 89 and 63 will likewise make a revolution in the same time, but since the pinion 84 is twice as large as the pinions 3|, 8| or 82 the 40 pinion 84 will make only one revolution every twenty-four hours, therefore the pin 86 in the pinion 84 will contact the left-hand portion of lever 81 every twenty-four hours and disengage the lug 89 from the projection 99. one to open the entire lid and wind up the watch or make the necessary adjustment.

Lever 9| is slidably secured to the lower portion of lid by any suitable means such as shoulder screws 6| and I|2 which penetrate slots ||3 and 50 I|4 respectively.

It is seen that this lever 9| crosses the lever 52 at the shoulderscrew 6|, therefore, the shoulder screw 6| slidably confines both of these levers to the lid at this point. The right-hand end of 55 lever 9| (Figure 4) has a suitable tension spring ||5 secured thereto and the other end of tension spring I|5 is secured as at ||6 to the lower side of lid I. Lever 9| has a notch 9 Ia which is adapted to be engaged by the left-hand end of leaf 99 spring |29 when the lever 81 has been operated to release cover I so that it can be opened manually. This spring |29 is xedly secured as at |2| to the lower side of cover II.

Secured to the plate I5 is bracket |22 which has 65 a slot |23, therein said slot |23 being adapted to receive projection 9|b on the end of lever 9| when the lid I I is in locked position. It is seen that when the pinion 84 makes a revolution that the pin 86 will contact the lower side of lever 81.70 and cause the hook 89 to be disengaged from the projection 99 of lever 9|. When this is done the tension which is caused by spring ||5 will pull the lever 9| partially to the right so as to cause the end of leaf spring |29 to engage the cavity 75 This will allow i5 Sla. In this position the projection SIb has not been entirely removed from the slot |23 and the top will not open with its own accord, but when one engages the projection 9|c with the thumb and pushes it backwardly the lid I may be opened. Projection 9|c projects upwardly through slot '18a in lid It is seen that lid has secured thereto an end wall |2t, and a side wall |25 to which is secured a plate i2? by any suitable means such as screws |28. The plate |27 fits tightly over the cigarette compartment and prevents dirt and trash from getting into the watch.

In order to cause lid 'I2 to snap upwardly when lever 52 has been pushed to the right in Figure 4, a suitable leaf spring |39 is secured to. the lower side of lid as at |3| and the free end of this spring is disposed between the end of projection 76a and the lower side of lid which is compressed when the lid 'l2 is in closed position.

It is thus seen that there has been provided a cigarette case which can be carried in the pocket or made of a size to be placed on a table or desk in an oiiice and whereby one smoking too many cigarettes can regulate the amount smoked. It is a well-known fact that inveterate smokers will light a cigarette through force of habit, whereas, if the smoker has to secure a key and unlock the case, this will require thought and will not be resorted to except for the purpose of offering a cigarette to a caller, and other special occasions.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

l. In a cigarette case having a time lock for releasing the cover thereon, means'for locking the cover in closed position, timed means for unlock# ing said cover at specified intervals and holding the cover in unlocked position until it is manually opened and means automatically locking the case when it is manually closed.

2. In a case for cigarettes having a time lock for releasing the cover thereon comprising a box with an opening, closure means for said opening, means for locking the closure means over the opening, timed means for moving the locking means to unlocked position at predetermined successive intervals and holding it in unlocked position until the closure means is opened and closed, means for automatically locking the closure means in position to await the next val of opening.

3. In a cigarette case having a time lock for releasing the cover thereon comprising a container with means for locking said cover against opening, timed means for unlocking said cover time interat predetermined automatically recurring intervals and holding it in unlocked position until it is opened and again closed, and means operable upon closing of the case for locking it against being opened until the next interval has been reached.

4. In a cigarette case having a time lock for releasing the cover thereon comprising a box having two compartments therein, a hinged lid for closing both of said compartments, means for locking said lid over said compartments, timed means for moving the locking means to unlocked position at predetermined successive time intervals and holding it in unlocked position until said lid is opened and again closed, and means for automatically locking said lid in position to await the next time interval of opening.

5. In a cigarette case having a time lock for releasing the cover thereon comprising a container having a mechanical compartment and a l cigarette compartment therein, a closure means for said compartments, means for automatically locking said closure means against opening, timed means for moving the locking means to unlocked position at predetermined successive time intervals and holding it in unlocked position until it is opened and closed again, and means for automatically locking said closure means to await the next time interval of opening.

6. In a cigarette case having a time lock for releasing the cover thereon comprising a container having a mechanical compartment and a cigarette compartment therein, a closure means for said compartments, means for automatically locking the closure means against opening, timed means for moving the locking means to unlocked position and holding it in unlocked position until it is opened and closed again, a second closure means in said first closure means to give access to said cigarette compartment, means for locking said second closure means against opening and timed means for moving the locking means to unlocked position and holding it in unlocked position until it is opened and closed again.

'7. In a cigarette case having a time lock for releasing the cover thereon comprising a box having two compartments therein, a hinged lid for closing both of said compartments, means for locking said lid over said compartments, timed means for moving the locking means to unlocked position and holding it in unlocked position until said lid is opened and closed again, a second lid hingedly mounted in said rst lid to give access to one of said compartments, means for locking 5 said second lid against opening and timed means for moving the locking means to unlocked position and holding it in unlocked position until said second lid is opened and closed again.

WILLIAM V. BLACKWELL. WILLIAM E. KEETER.

CII 

